Dressrosa, New World
In the gleaming palace above the bustling city of Dressrosa, Donquixote Doflamingo sat on his throne, holding a strange, pulsing lump of violet flesh in his hand. His flamingo-pink coat fluttered as he leaned forward, golden shades glinting. In his eyes—madness, excitement, and greed danced together.
"Fuffuffuffuffu… so this is the Mutant Cell,"
he murmured, voice sharp as glass.
"They say it can double a man's strength… I wonder what it'll do for a god like me."
Beside him, the ever-dripping Trebol urged, his voice nasal and slimy:
"Doffy, that thing cost blood to get! You led the whole crew to snatch it! Eat it already—see what it does!"
Indeed, this was one of the stolen cells from the batch Big Mom had bought off Kaido's camp—an artifact of the underground chaos Luo Xing had set loose on the world. After days of bloodshed between pirates, agents, and warlords, one of those coveted cells had found its way into Doflamingo's manic grasp.
Doflamingo's grin widened.
"Fuffuffuffu… Let's see if this little miracle is worth all the noise."
He tossed the pulsing cell into his mouth and swallowed.
Moments later, his muscles began to twitch.
A surge of violent energy rippled through his body—veins bulged, hair bristled, and the floor cracked beneath his boots. The pain twisted his face, but the thrill of it was intoxicating.
When the storm subsided, a dark crimson aura radiated from him. His already monstrous presence had grown far more terrifying.
He threw his head back and laughed to the heavens.
"Fuffuffuffuffu! What power…! My body feels reborn!"
"Luo Xing… that little upstart of Kaido's really made something interesting."
"But the throne atop this world—the one that sits empty—belongs to me!
Fuffuffuffuffu!"
The underworld trembled with his laughter.
The Thriller Bark, Somewhere in the Mist
Across the sea, deep in the fog of the Florian Triangle, chaos was erupting aboard a colossal ghost ship.
"You idiot, Absalom!"
Gecko Moria, master of shadows and former Warlord of the Sea, roared in rage.
"You lost the Mutant Cell I sent you to steal?!"
The transparent man trembled, wiping snot from his face.
"I'm sorry, Lord Moria! I had it! I swear! But the Red-Haired Pirates intercepted me—they took it away!"
"You know how useless I am against Conqueror's Haki that strong! Red-Hair's Observation completely nullified my invisibility!"
Moria's sharp teeth clenched.
"Damn you, Shanks! You'll regret this! One day, I'll turn you into one of my zombies!"
From the corner, a girlish laugh chimed.
Perona floated in, surrounded by her fluttering ghosts, her pink hair glowing faintly.
"Moria-sama why wait? I'll send my Negative Ghosts to make him kneel before you right now, hee-hee!"
Moria twitched at her cheeriness.
"We'll deal with Red-Hair later. Our first target… is still Kaido."
At the mention of that name, the mirth drained from his face, replaced by a darkness far more terrible.
Years ago, he'd faced Kaido—and lost everything. His entire crew, slaughtered.
The wound never healed.
"Kaido… you damned beast," he hissed, voice like ice.
"The dead will have their revenge."
Alabasta, the Kingdom Beneath the Desert Sun
In a lavish chamber filled with golden light, Sir Crocodile leaned lazily in his chair, cigar smoke curling through the air. Across from him stood a young woman in black—sharp-eyed, calm, dangerous.
"Heh. So even the World Government's Devil Child managed to snatch one," Crocodile drawled, eyeing the strange cell in her gloved hands. "Not bad, Nico Robin."
Robin's face was unreadable.
"It was luck. The Mutant Cell is here. Do you intend to use it yourself—or test it on someone else?"
Crocodile rose, towering over her, his golden hook gleaming.
"A treasure like this? I wouldn't trust it to anyone else."
His fingers brushed the pulsing mass—then his cold eyes flicked toward Robin.
"Tell me, girl. Why didn't you eat it? You could've taken it and run. Become stronger than me. Start over."
The question froze the air.
Robin's heart skipped. The wrong answer meant death.
Her mind spun. Then, softly:
"Because you saved me when the world turned its back on me, Crocodile-sama.
How could I betray the hand that feeds me?"
A long silence. Then, Crocodile smirked.
"Heh. Good answer."
He tossed the cell into his mouth.
Robin stepped back as his body convulsed, muscles tearing and rebuilding in real time. The sandstorm of his power flared, nearly blowing her back. She could feel it—the sheer evolution surging through him.
And for the first time, Robin realized… she might never escape him.
The Red-Haired Pirates
Out in the open seas, under the sun-dappled waves of the New World, the Red Force drifted peacefully.
Yet, on its deck, the strongest crew in the world gathered around a small wooden crate—inside which rested three Mutant Cells.
These were their spoils—one of them taken directly from Moria's invisible thief, Absalom.
Lucky Roux scratched his head.
"So, boss, what do we do with 'em? You gonna eat one?"
Shanks chuckled and waved him off.
"Not a chance. None of you will, either."
Benn Beckman nodded.
"Our strength lies in discipline and skill, not trinkets. The day we rely on shortcuts like this, we stop being Red-Hair's crew."
Lucky blinked.
"Then why steal 'em?"
Shanks smiled faintly, gazing at the pulsing purple tissue.
"Curiosity. I want to see just how far Kaido's son-in-law's genius really goes."
"Then how are we supposed to test that if no one eats it?" Lucky asked.
Beckman smirked.
"We've got volunteers."
He dragged a man forward—a captured pirate, bounty in the hundreds of millions. A notorious killer of the New World. The prisoner cursed and struggled, but Beckman's gun pressed against his head kept him still.
"Feed him."
Roux pried the man's jaw open and shoved in a Mutant Cell.
The results were immediate.
The man screamed, muscles bulging, bones cracking. His skin turned a deep crimson as raw power exploded outward, breaking his chains.
He roared to the sky like a beast.
"Red-Hair Shanks! You fool! Thanks for the gift! I'll tear you apart!"
Even the veteran pirates flinched at the killing intent radiating from him.
Then—
A flash of green light cut across the deck.
A single, precise sword wave split the man cleanly in half.
He collapsed before he could even fall.
From the far side of the beach, a cold voice followed.
"Hmph. So that's all it can do?"
Shanks froze, then groaned aloud.
"Mihawk?! What the hell, man! This is my territory!"
Dracule Mihawk, the world's greatest swordsman, sheathed his blade with practiced grace.
"You left your door open."
Shanks pointed furiously.
"You killed my test subject!"
Mihawk raised an eyebrow.
"He was noisy."
The Red-Hair crew collectively sighed. The sea breeze carried Shanks's exasperated shout far and wide—
"You owe me a new pirate, you bastard!"
Across the Seas
Thus, the stolen Mutant Cells scattered.
Some brought power, others death.
And everywhere they went, the world trembled with curiosity and greed.
From the New World to the Holy Land, the name "Luo Xing"—the mysterious son-in-law of Kaido—
echoed like a storm on the horizon.
A storm that no one could yet comprehend.
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